By Way of New Orleans
by thedasilverthorn
Summary: Willow Ann decides to move to New Orleans to find a new start and finds love along the way.
1. Chapter 1

She could not take it anymore. She had to get herself out of there. Thought to herself "New Orleans seems like a place to make a new start."

Her name is Willow Ann. She was born and raised in the Midwest but was growing restless of her hometown. She was ostracized by almost everyone who knew her. Willow couldn't find a career in the Midwest either. Sure she liked the record store she worked at but that wasn't what she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing. She wanted to manage a bar, hell, she wanted to own a bar. The market where she grew up for that was minimal to none. She had weighed a few cities, almost went to Austin, Texas. But New Orleans ended up capturing her heart.

Maybe it was the old world charm. Maybe it was that the entire city was drenched with the French and Cajun cultures. Maybe it was the music. Who knows what it was, but she was going to go there. So she packed two suit cases and a carry on and packed her cat up. Willow sold everything else she had. She hopped in her car and started on her trek to, what she hoped would be, a new start.

On her way down to New Orleans, Willow stopped at a few places she had always wanted to see like Nashville, Tennessee and Birmingham, Alabama. This was her first major trip anywhere, aside from a few small missions trips within the Midwest and an occasional trip to Canada. She was more than happy to finally be on her way down south.

When she finally made it into New Orleans, she set to trying to find someplace to stay until she could find a job and a place to live. She had some money saved up but it was not enough to get her a glamorous place. Willow managed to find an apartment on Toulouse on top of a bar called One Eyed Jacks. The landlord was the owner of the bar and gave Willow a good deal. And Willow was happy. For the first time in what seemed like a lifetime.

Willow did not have much to decorate her new apartment with so she just set up her cat's litter box, food and water and laid out her sleeping bag to catch some shut eye. She had been up for almost 4 days straight, between the drive and apartment and job hunting. Although, she did have a few interviews lined up throughout New Orleans, including the bar she lived above. That was going to have to wait for another day. Willow finally caught some shut eye.

Willow slept for what felt like days, but in reality was only 14 hours. She awoke feeling rested and decided to go thrifting to see if she could find anything for her new place. She quickly found the local Salvation Army and set to work in the Housewares section. She managed to find a chair, a tv and a small table that only put her out fifty eight dollars total. "Not too bad," Willow thought to herself.

She took her finds home and arranged them in her apartment. Willow may not have had cable but the television picked up the local channels through the rabbit ears it came with. "Awesome, at least I will have something to watch," she said out loud. It was now time for her to get ready for one of her interviews on Bourbon Street.

Willow only brought two suitcases full of clothes so she didn't have a lot to pick from but found a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and paired that with a red racer back tank top. Willow was a pretty girl, even if she did not always think so. She was about five feet nothing with shoulder length red and black hair and cool blue eyes. Her shoe options were even smaller than her clothing options. But she managed to decide on her Harley Davidson boots that she refused to sell. She put them on over her jeans and headed out the door.

Willow's first interview was at the bar she lived above, One Eyed Jacks. They specialize in themed nights and a burlesque show. Willow was interviewing for a bar tending position but was not opposed to being in the burlesque show as a few of the other bartenders were.

When she walked in downstairs, she was greeted by the head bartender and the owner. Both were friendly but tough. They grilled her on her previous jobs, about her sudden move to New Orleans and why she wanted to work there. "So what have experience have you had in other bars?" the owner asked. "I worked at a rock and roll venue in Cleveland, Ohio called the HIFI, they also had an alternative show, as they called it with burlesque dancers and fire eaters," Willow answered. "Awesome!" said the bartender. "I also worked at a metal bar, The Outpost in Kent, Ohio and have done various guest spots at other Cleveland and Akron area bars," stated Willow confidently. The owner looked very pleased. The bartender asked, "Why did you decide to move down to New Orleans?" Willow responded with, "I just needed a change of scenery and have been in love with this city since I first set foot here many years ago." "Okay," said the owner, "And why did you decide to work here?" "Well, considering I moved in upstairs, I figured it would be an easy commute to this place," she chuckled, "And I love the themed nights here, as well as the burlesque shows. I love that art form, I think it's beautiful," Willow responded with. "Well we might put you in the show if you show enough potential and desire," remarked the bartender. Willow smiled, "I would love that!"

They told Willow that she would be on a probationary period for the first three months she was there. And that she would have a bar tending test with the head bartender, who's name was Jenny, at one of the burlesque shows, celebrating Jenny's brother's band. They also told her that there other two bartenders had quit and they needed a third girl, possibly a fourth depending on how good Willow and the other hire were. Willow remembered a friend, Renee who was moving down to New Orleans as well, and going to be Willow's roommate. "Well, my friend Renee is coming down, she's the roommate I told you about Nate," she told the owner, Nate Hasckal. "All right! When she gets into town, have her come in and we'll talk to her," replied Nate. "Awesome! So, I have the job?" Willow asked. "Yes, your test run is in an hour. Change into whatever you feel like, remember it is a burlesque show. If you don't have the proper style with you, I believe we are the same size I can take you to my place and we can find something. I need to downsize anyway," said Jenny. "Actually, yes I would need that. To afford the move down here I had to sell ninety percent of my possessions," Willow answered with. Jenny said, "Okay, let's go to my place. I live about 3 blocks down in the old haunted Wilson place. It was turned into a few apartments since it was so big." "Dude, that's so rad! I saw that place coming in! It was a bit out of my price range, but I love the place upstairs. Just enough for me." Willow excitedly stated. And the girls headed out.


	2. Chapter 2

When the girls got to Jenny's apartment they grabbed a drink to loosed up and started raiding Jenny's closet. "So how did you come to New Orleans, if you don't mind me asking," wondered Willow. Jenny answered with, "Well my mother grew up here and I always loved it, so I decided to come down here. My brother comes to visit a lot. He's single you know." Willow laughed, "No offense, but the last blind date I was set up on ended horribly." "No blind date, just scope him out tonight, see what you think, then maybe we can set something up," Jenny said. Willow smiled, "All right, deal."

Just then Willow's phone rang. "Hey girl, it's Renee! I'm outside your place." said the voice on the other line. Willow screamed., "Walk about three blocks to the old Wilson place, there's a historic site sign on the lawn. Come in, and go to apartment three, I'm finding clothes for my first night on the job. Oh and by the way, they are going to give you an interview too. Hope you brought some corsets!" "Hell yeah! I'll be right over!" Renee retorted.

When Renee arrived the girls had a small reunion then immediately went back to getting dressed. Jenny ended up wearing a jet black and white Victorian corset with a black mini skirt and knee high black stilettos. She fixed her hair into a messy bun and applied her make up, black eyeliner and blood red lipstick. Renee ended up with a blood red corset with black trim that was also from the Victorian era. She paired it with black skinny jeans and red stiletto pumps. Her make up consisted of red eye shadow and a nude lip. Last to get dressed was Willow. Her corset was a bit different than the other two girls but it looked beautiful on her. It was a deep purple lace with an electric blue underneath. She kept on her skinny jeans but added a paid of sky high electric blue heels. Her make up was a purple and blue eye with a black swirl design on her temple and a hot pink lip.

When the girls deemed themselves ready they all spritzed on their favorite perfumes, Jenny with Armani Code, Renee with Gucci's Envy Me and Willow with Juicy Couture. They were finally all set.

"So are you nervous, Willow?" asked Jenny. "Yeah, a bit," said Willow. Renee chimed in with, "You'll be great love! I'll be lucky if I survive the interview!" "Why wouldn't you?" asked Jenny. "I get super nervous and my reflex is to vomit, and that usually turns off possible employers. Give me a test like what Willow's doing tonight and I'm game, but actual interviews, forget it." Renee answered with. Jenny said, "Well, let me talk to Nate and see if I can just let him have you bar tend with us tonight. It should not be a problem!" "Awesome, thank you so much!" exclaimed Renee.

When the girls walked into the bar, they saw the dancers rehearsing and a few guys sitting at the bar. They looked strangely familiar from behind but Willow and Renee didn't think twice. They just walked over to Nate with Jenny. "Hey Nate. We are ready for the night to start!" said Jenny, "Oh and by the way, this is the girl Willow, was talking about. Do you think we should just let her start tonight too? Same deal as Jess?" Nate answered with, "You think she can do it?" "Yeah, she's a lot like Willow, they work well off of each other," Jenny said. "Okay, let's do it," Nate replied, "You're on tonight Renee, hope you're ready!" "Of course I am, Mr. Haskal!" Renee exclaimed. "Please call me Nate. Oh and by the way, I think you should meet the guests of honor." Nate said gesturing to the fellas at the bar. As they turned around, Willow and Renee almost had a heart attack. They could not believe who they were standing in front of.

"Hey girls, I'm Christian. This here is Steve, Jason, Ryan and Will, the guys I play with." said the strikingly handsome singer. "Hi," was all that Willow and Renee could manage. "You don't have to be nervous," said Steve, "We don't bite, all that hard." "Well now that you put it that way," was what Willow came up with, "It's just we've both been fans of all of you for years now. Never dreamed of this." She looked at Jenny, "I never put two and two together, that he was your brother. Wow, do I feel stupid!" "Yeah, I did not know the whole story but man..." said Renee. Don't be girls! I told you about tonight the way I did for a reason. I saw the Kane button on your wallet, Willow, and that's part of my reason for hiring you, and you too Renee," Jenny explained. The girls just stood there in awe. Nate saved them by saying, "Willow, you and Renee will be at the main bar on either side. Jenny and myself will be at the two smaller ones. If you need anything, just wave, but I have a good vibe about you two. Just be yourself and trust in yourselves and you'll be great. Oh and you have drink whatever you want, just make sure you do your job and don't short the money or give out to many free drinks. And Christian and the band are on the house."

Everyone separated to get their bars ready. Nate showed Willow and Renee where the back stock room was, where the safe was and all the necessary tools for the night. He then left them to set everything up. A lot of the bottles needed replacing, especially the Jack Daniels, which both Willow and Renee knew, would be in high demand, with Christian and crew in the house. Once everything was stocked they set to washing the bar down and doing the dishes. When they were satisfied, they sat on the bar, since they hadn't quite opened yet and each poured themselves a Jack on the rocks.

"You girls can handle your liquor," they heard from behind them. It was Christian, "You wanna pour me one of those?" Willow jumped off the bar and grabbed a glass for Christian. "A toast. To the two beautiful, new bartenders here at One Eyed Jacks, may you get everything you hoped for. Cheers," Christian toasted to the girls. They all downed their drinks. "Okay girls, doors are opening in five! Let's have a good night!" Nate shouted at them. "Whew, you can do this girl," Willow thought to herself, "Don't think to hard, don't let Christian distract you too much. But he is so beautiful. Oh boy, this is going to be a long night."


	3. Chapter 3

The doors opened and it seemed like there was a mad rush to get in. The poor fella who was running the door, a kid named Jack, looked like he was going to shit his pants when everyone came running at the door. Christian came up he behind him, "Dude, I shoulda warned ya that things might get a little crazy." "It's, uh, it's okay sir. I think, um, I think I can, uh, handle this. Yeah I, uh think I got it." Jack squealed out. "Just holler if you need something, I think Nate has someone coming in to help if you need it. Once everyone is in, you'll be okay," Christian replied with.

Meanwhile at the bar, Willow and Renee were getting busy with everyone coming in. It was a nice mix of the standard whiskey and coke drinks and the mixed drinks, like a Sex on the Beach. Kept both of the girls on their toes. "Hey honey, wanna shake that ass over here and bring me a Jack and Coke?" some guy shouted down the bar at Willow. She spun around to see who it was and low and behold, it was an ex-boyfriend, one who tried to kill her. "Shit," she muttered under her breath. She calmly walked over and gave him his drink and took his money. "Make sure I get that change back there, baby cakes," he said as she walked to the cash register. She felt someone touch her shoulder as she was facing the register. She flashed back to that day, where he threw her across the room and knocked her into a coma for 2 months. "Don't worry, it's only me," she heard Christian whisper in her ear, she relaxed. "Is that creep over there bothering you?" he asked her. "Yeah, he's an ex of mine, it ended badly, he gave me this," she showed him the scar on her forehead from where he threw her. "I'll keep an eye on him for ya babe, he won't touch you as long as I'm here," Christian assured Willow. Willow gave her ex his change and continued working, despite him yelling comments at her.

Renee had her own hands full, but not with a rude, egotistical male. She was more than willing to let Steve hit on her. Whenever she wasn't serving anyone else, she was chatting it up with him. They were getting more loving with each other as the night wore on.

The first act of the night was the official One Eyed Jack's Burlesque show. Those ladies got up there and had routines the were choreographed to some of Christian's songs, as well as some of Steve's solo work and other outlaw country musicians. They warmed the crowd up, to just the right level. By the time they were done, the crowd was screaming and chanting, "Kane, Kane, Kane!"

Meanwhile, during the burlesque show, Willow and Renee were getting into it as they were serving. They were dancing and singing along. The patrons sitting at the bar loved it. Though, who wouldn't love a gorgeous, curvacious girl dressed in a corset and heels dancing. They started getting fancy with their drinks, coming up with mixes on the fly for patrons who did not know what they wanted. They also got fancy with their serving method, tossing some bottles and putting a little flair into it. Nate and Jenny were watching in awe from across the bar at how well the girls were taking to the crowd and the job. And of course Christian was not too far away, watching and making sure that Willow was safe from her ex. Right before they went on stage, Christian went up to Willow, "Don't worry about him while we're on stage, we brought some friends along, who will keep an eye on things," he said gesturing to a pair of big and burly bikers at the other end of the bar. "You didn't have to..." Willow started to say, "Yes I did," replied Christian. "You're not getting hurt on my watch," he said as he kissed her on the head. With that the band took off for the stage.


	4. Chapter 4

Willow and Renee watched as the boys made their way through the crowd and up to the stage. They could not believe how many women grabbed at the guys as they passed, "Wow, some of these ladies need to watch themselves before they get decked," Renee stated. All Willow could muster was a nod in agreement, even though Christian had brought extra security to protect her, she was still worried about her ex. But that worry started to dissipate when she heard Christian say, "Hey y'all! Are ya ready for a rockin' show tonight!"

The band kicked off with a tune called "Happy Man" which happened to be recorded by Trace Adkins as well. The crowd was more than receiving. They ate up everything that Christian, Steve and the guys gave to them. Every interaction one of them made with a crowd member, any statement they made in general went over like chocolate cake on a child's birthday. The band continued the set with "How I'm Living Now", "Rattlesnake Smilke", "Spirit Boy", "Drinkin to Drink", and "Whiskey In Mind." Willow and Renee were singing along at the bar as they were serving the bar patrons who did not brave the crowd by the stage. Of course, her ex was still sitting there, but so were the two bikers that Christian hired. They did not take their eyes off of her or him at all. Renee's friendly bar creep had given up and left so she was feeling a bit better since Steve was on stage. Even though they were hitting it off very well, she still could not help but be jealous of Christian's affection towards Willow. She hoped Steve would eventually show that much love to her.

The next song the band played was one that Willow, nor Renee will ever forget. "This next song, is a song about being in love. It's a song about the person you love being a lot more than you deserve," Christian started. The crowd, knowing what song he meant, started screaming for it. "Settle down now y'all, we'll get to it shortly," Steve said, "This song is important to all of us, but more so to myself and Christian, as our two beautiful women, are your wonderful bartenders tonight." The crowd was a little unsteady at this fact, some cheered, some jeered. "Hey, all you fucking haters can leave right now, we love those girls to death and if you can't be happy for us then go home. I love Willow and I know Steve loves Renee, and they are more than we deserve, so this song is for you baby," Christian exclaimed. "And you too babe," Steve continued. With that they started the song. Renee and Willow were in shock at this. They just stood there while the band performed the song. The patrons at the bar did not pester them, they understood what it meant to them, well all but Willow's ex. He started to say something but was quickly shut up by the two bikers. The song brought tears to the girls eyes, and upon seeing them tearing up, Christian and Steve started tearing up. It was a truly beautiful moment, one that does not normally happen at One Eyed Jacks.

After the song ended, the crowd cheered louder than they had the whole night. "Well that's better, I see all the assholes have left!" Christian retorted, "You can't deny those women aren't gorgeous, but lay a hand on them and we'll kill ya." Steve smiled and said, "Oh yeah, and you've seen what this guy can do on Leverage and Angel. Don't piss him off." "Well you've been know to kick the living shit out of people too, Steve," Christian came back with. "This is true. So, don't fuck with either of us or our women! Okay next song!" Steve said laughing. With that they finished their set with hard rocking tunes like "Blaze", "Seven Days", "Oklahoma State of Mind", and "Calling All Country Women", which they gestured to Willow and Renee in that song as well. They also thew in some softer songs like, "In The Darkness", "Different Kind of Knight", Thinking of You", and "Something's Gotta Give", as well as covers of "Shoulda Been A Cowboy" and "Luckenbach, Texas."

"Okay folks, it's about that time. We only have one song left for ya," Christian started, immediately getting boos from the audience. "I know, I know, you'll just have to come back for another show!" he said to that, "I think everyone knows this song. This place is our house tonight, so let's go out with a bang!" With that they busted into their hit "The House Rules". The concert had come to an end.


End file.
